The Sleepy Town
by toebeee
Summary: Larraine was not particularly fond of adventure. She had always been a timid girl, always anxious, and scared of change. One town would change all of that.
1. A Letter

One

I had been shy and hesitant all my life. Unlike my twin sister, Angel, I lacked an outgoing and confident personality. It was Angel's letter that finally convinced me to venture out of my comfort zone.

Dearest Larraine, the weather is absolutely splendid today in Hawaii! Just two weeks ago, our town achieved the perfect status, and I am now in possession of the prized golden watering can! Soon, lovely golden roses will be gracing Hawaii's grassy hills. I'm having such a grand time here, sis…but I must admit, life is not the same without you. How is life back at home? Mum and Dad have been sending me their love through their letters, and I thoroughly miss them, but not as much as you, sis. Please don't take this as an offense, but I worry for you, Larraine. A young lady should be out, exploring new and exciting places, and making friends to last a lifetime. A young, lovely lady like you should be having the time of her life! As much I love home, and you know I do, it was never quite an adventurous place. But Hawaii is an adventure in itself, Larraine! And your sister misses you dreadfully. Please consider moving here! There is a spare bed in the attic that you could stay in, and I know the neighbors will welcome you with open arms. Hawaii is waiting for you, sis! Don't let your life pass you by!

All my love,

Angel

Don't let your life pass you by…the words ingrained themselves into my mind, until I finally caved in, and decided to do something brave for once in my life. I decided to move to Hawaii.

"So, where's a young, pretty lass like you headed to?" The cab driver asked me as I hurried into the back of the car.

"Hawaii, sir," I replied, to which the odd sea creature chuckled.

"Oh, it's Kapp'n, young lass. Hawaii, eh? I be hear'n mighty things about that town! Lovely place, it is, with tall coconut trees and hybrid flowers swayin' in the cool breeze. Plenty of sunshine too. I say, it be a perfect place for a young, ambitious lass!"

I smiled shyly, feeling grateful for Kapp'n's friendliness but also uncomfortable with giving him too much information about myself.

"I'm hardly an ambitious person, Kapp'n. In fact, I wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for my sister's wishes."

"Oh I see, you be goin' to Hawaii to be reunited with your long lost sister!"

I only gave a half-hearted smile, slightly amused by Kapp'n's over exaggeration.

"Well, I'm sure a well-to-do lass like you has more than enough money to start a new life in Hawaii," Kapp'n nodded at me from the cab mirror.

"Um, well, I have enough."

"Oh? Well, what do you plan to do once you arrive, young miss…"

"Larraine," I said after a few seconds of silence.

"Ah yes, young miss Larraine, what exactly do you intend to do in Hawaii?"

"I don't really know," I stuttered, feeling very uncomfortable now. It was true; I had no idea what my long-term intentions were in Hawaii, only that I was going to live with Angel. I felt a tinge of regret taking root in my stomach, but I willed it to go away. I knew things would turn out fine as long as I was with my strong, confident sister.

"Well, young lass, I regret saying this, but…no, I won't! We will see each other again soon!" I gave him a smile, small but honest this time. My heart lightened, and I took a deep breath as I opened the cab door. I felt ready.


	2. Sleepy Town

Two

Moments before, I had felt confident, but as soon as I stepped out of the cab, I could tell that something was wrong. "Wait! Kapp'n!" I yelled, dropping my bags and flailing after the cab in vain. Kapp'n was gone. And I was sure that I had been dropped into the wrong town. There was no way this could be Hawaii.

For one, there were no hybrid flowers to be seen anywhere, in fact, there were no flowers to be seen at all. The land was barren, except for a few patches of grass here and there, and a couple of sad looking pine trees. Two, there were no magnificent coconut trees, which gave Hawaii its fame. Lastly, there was no sign of Angel. And she said she would be in front of the town hall, waiting with open arms.

"Where am I?" My voice trembled. For a while all I could do was stare up at the building in front of me, which was most definitely the town hall. I then noticed a bulletin board standing awkwardly next to the building. I inched toward the board, moving as if at any second some unforeseeable creature would attack me. "Sleepy Town…" I read from the old-looking sign. "Sleepy Town?" I said again, panic rising into my voice.

"Yeah, Sleepy Town. Hey, who are you?" A voice from behind startled me, and I whipped around. It was an alligator. I was about to scream when it spoke again. "Are you new to town? I've never seen you before…hey, what's your favorite food?" I blinked, confused. I took a moment to gape at him. In turn, he stood there with his lazy-looking eyes and a silly grin plastered on his face.

"L-listen, I'm in the wrong town. I shouldn't be here. This is a mistake. I need to get out of here," I said, my voice rising. The alligator only raised his eyebrows.

"I'm Alfonso, by the way," he said, baring his bright teeth in a wide grin. I was taken aback.

"Hey, did you even hear me?" I shouted as he ran off to chase a grasshopper. "This is not happening."

After a few moments of attempting to hold back the creeping sickness in my stomach, I took a deep breath and walked into the town hall. My suitcase awkwardly bumping behind me, I made my way toward the white pelican at the front desk.

"Hello, welcome to Sleepy Town! How may I help you today?" I was taken aback again; she seemed much too enthusiastic to be welcoming me to a place called "Sleepy Town".

"Miss, I'm afraid I'm in the wrong town. I'm supposed to be in Hawaii, my sister is waiting for me-"

"Oh! You're new here, how rude of me! I'm Pelly, dear! It's nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll like it here," the pelican said enthusiastically.

"No, you don't understand…I need to leave, as soon as possible. Please, do you have a telephone I could use?" I stammered, feeling guilty as I saw Pelly's face sink.

"Oh…I see. I'm sorry, I just get so excited when new people come to Sleepy. Our telephone is right over there." I slowly nodded in thanks, feeling oddly sympathetic.

"I wish I could stay, really," I lied. "It's just that my sister is expecting me, I'm sure you understand," I said reassuringly.

"Oh yes, of course," Pelly sniffled, turning away from me. I bit the inside of my lip, feeling awkward as ever, and hurriedly dialed Angel's house. After several awkward moments of the dialing tone and Pelly's sniffing in the background, Angel finally picked up. "Angel? Finally…I'm in the wrong town! Uhm, the cab driver dropped me off at a 'Sleepy Town'…do you know where that is? Could you pick me up? Please?" I tried to keep my voice down, but the desperation in my voice was definitely audible.

"Larraine? Sorry, the connection is awful right now, there's a terrible storm right outside of Hawaii. You'll need to speak a little louder, dear!"

"I said I'm in the wrong town! I'm in 'Sleepy Town'! Can you pick me up?" My voice cracked at the end of the sentence. I waited for Angel to reply but I heard only a light crackling from the other side. "Angel?"

"Larraine! Dear, you'll just have to stay where you are until this storm dies down! The mayor has just announced that this will go on for a week! Can you find somewhere to stay until then?" My jaw dropped. From the corner of my eye I saw Pelly looking over, her eyes wide.

"I…I don't know if-"

"Yes! Yes, if you need a place to stay for now, Sleepy will welcome you gladly!" Pelly interrupted, apparently able to hear the whole conversation. I sighed.

"Okay, Angel. I'll see you in a week."

"What's that? Oh, this horrid storm! Well, anyway, I know you'll be fine, dear! Next week I'll-" The dial tone cut off Angel before she could finish saying goodbye, and I was left with a giddy-looking Pelly clapping her hands in excitement.

"Very well then! I know just the place for you, Larraine." I gave her a half-hearted smile, feeling glad that Pelly was being very gracious and welcoming toward me but also a little disappointed. What was I going to do without my sister? Pelly felt the sadness radiating out of my body, and placed a wing on my hands, which were limply crossed on the counter. "Oh, sweetheart. I know you're disappointed that you can't be with your sister for a few days, but I promise you, Sleepy Town is a nice place to be, and plus, we never have unexpected storms here." She smiled warmly, and for the first time since my departure from home, I genuinely smiled back.

"Thank you, Pelly."

"Now, as for where you'll be living for the next week, you can live with Oliver in the red house. If I remember correctly, there is an extra bed left in the attic, and I'm sure Oliver will be pleased to have you as a guest for the time being!"

"Oh, well, you don't have an extra house that I could rent out? I mean, is it necessary for me to live with someone?" My turtle shell was beckoning to me.

"Well, Tom Nook would gladly build a new house for you, but since your residence in Sleepy Town is only temporary, I believe it would be quite senseless to purchase a whole house," Pelly said with an apologetic look.

"Of course, of course. So, you're sure then, that um, Oliver, he'd be fine with me staying in his house?"

"Why, yes, I'm sure of it! He's a pleasant young man, very polite. It's true that he hardly makes a peep, but he gets along splendidly with everyone here in Sleepy."

I nodded, thanked Pelly for her unending kindness, and went out in search for the red house that I'd be staying in for a whole week.

Finding the red house wasn't hard. It was small, but surely enough, its rooftop was colored a deep red, standing out against the colorless landscape of Sleepy Town. I stood, immobile in front of the door before finally holding up my hand to knock several times. I waited one minute, then three minutes, my eyes shifting nervously to the windows, but the shades were drawn. I was about to turn back when I heard the door open. I saw two black converses step forward, and my eyes rose to see a boy wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, and finally, on his face, a frown. He was tall and formidable, with blue icy eyes glaring through unkempt brown hair. I held my breath. Oliver, his name is Oliver, I reminded myself.

"You must be Oliver. I'm-"

"Larraine, I know. Alfonso already told me." Alfonso? Who in the blazes was that?

"Er…"

Oliver sighed and shifted his weight from left to right, giving away his impatience. "He's the big, toothy alligator. You can't miss him." I nearly smacked my head. How could I have forgotten that strange alligator?

"Right, of course," I said, sounding meek as ever. He was intimidating enough as it was, towering over me and glaring me down with those icy eyes, and it didn't help at all that he was being so unfriendly. I sighed and forced myself to regain my composure. "Pelly said I could stay here for a while. Just a week," I added, when he let out an exasperated sigh. I was sure he would slam the door in my face, but he bit the inside of his lip and nodded.

"Fine. You can sleep on the sofa." He turned around and left me outside with my suitcase, not bothering to help. I fumbled after him. The inside of the house was plain, bare but for a sofa, some tables with books stacked high, and a lonely clock on the far wall.

"Kitchen's to the left. Bathroom's to the right. Upstairs is for me only. I repeat, for _me_ only." He made it perfectly clear that the attic was out of limits, and yet I remembered what Pelly had told me.

"Well, Pelly said I could sleep in the attic-"

"You can't go up in the attic."

There. It was no use fighting with Oliver, he was as steadfast as a boulder, and about as welcoming as one too. "Anything else?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Er, no. I think I can handle myself now."

With that, Oliver climbed the stairs to the forbidden attic, leaving me standing awkwardly in the parlor. I remembered my manners the last second, and called out, "Oliver, thank you!" But all I heard was the attic door shutting, the sound reverberating through my brain, and it was all I could do to not collapse to the floor in a watery heap. Instead, I slowly made my way to the sad little sofa, and sat down quietly. Then, and only then, I finally allowed myself a few tears.


End file.
